The executive committee of the Buncombe County Republican Party found longtime political activist Don Yelton guilty of party disloyalty, voting June 25 to strip him of his duties as precinct chair and kick him off the committee until the next party convention in March of 2013.

However, the move wasn’t unanimous, and former party chair Robert Malt as well as Gary Shoemaker resigned in protest from their own leadership roles in the party. Malt has been very critical of current party chair Henry Mitchell; he currently serves as executive director of conservative group, Buncombe Forward. Shoemaker serves as its director.

Yelton says he plans to appeal the decision to the district and possibly state levels. He wasn’t able to attend the June 25 meeting to defend himself due to work commitments, he says. Instead, former party chair Chad Nesbitt spoke on his behalf.
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